You're better off applying for a CoA first. Just in case. You're kinda stuck if you're not granted one. It doesn't take that long if your case is straight forward. My husband who was on a student visa applied and we recieved our CoA within 14 days. Whereas my friends application took over two months...
The answers to your questions are that everything has yet to be confirmed . I'm assuming (this is my oppinion only) that once the paper has been passed the new laws will apply to everyone. It's going to be a very messy situation either way, if the new laws don't apply to those already here, it seems...
